DMLAsearch is a mega metasearch engine that maintains a massive index of user-generated search terms that spans dozens of independent stock photo and video collections. This enables researchers to perform simultaneous keyword queries across an enormous number of images in a fraction of a second. Use of DMLAsearch is free and does not require you to register. Contributing agencies do not pay to be included in index. It is a free benefit DMLA general membership.

Are images found via DMLAsearch free to use?

No. However, practically everything referenced by DMLAsearch is available for licensing. So, unlike other aggregate image search solutions, you don't have to worry that an image you found isn't available to legally license.

Who actually handles the transaction when licensing an image found using DMLAsearch?

You will deal directly with the agency that represents the image. DMLA does not participate in, nor receive any portion of, the transaction. We're just here to help you quickly find the right image.

What's up with the two-columns of search results?

The column on the left titled "Ranked by Total Items Found", is a list of agencies that have the most number of items that match your search term. The column on the right titled "Ranked by Relative Percentage of Collection", lists agencies by the percentage of their collection matching your search term. You may find that agencies highest ranked by relative percentage tend to specialize in that subject.

What's the coolest trick you can tell me about DMLAsearch?

Instead of simply clicking a single agency in the search results column, try Option-clicking to open the agency's website in a background tab in your browser. That way you can quickly open several different agencies each in its own tab. When done inspecting the results, Safari users can return to the tab containing DMLAsearch and press Cmd-Opt-W to close all background tabs before starting a new search. (Huge time saver!)